[williamx]

A lot has been said about cowboys taking our work and no real methods to stop them, apart from bringing in a license scheme, which in my opinion won't work.

First of all we call these people (cowboys-benefit cheats and crooks who are trying to destroy our businesses)

Who out there has never in their life. Watched a TV without a license, gone fishing without a license, walked the dog without one, gone on holiday and brought in more than your allowances.

Have you never brought a Cd or video which has been copied or brought some bootleg tobacco or booze or the bargain down the pub.

When you started in this business did you start all legal from day one or did you do a few taster days to see if it would work for you? without declaring your earnings? etc etc.

If you have NEVER EVER broken the law then you are person in a billion and I will worship at your feet, and build churches in your name.

So that said how can we stop these cheats from operating?

My idea is that we lobby the government to bring in a "back to work pro-gramme", which looks after the financial needs these people need to live on while they build a successful business.

We all know that to start from scratch and to have a viable business takes at least 2 years, now to leave the security of a regular income, to chance this, is not very appealing to a lot of people.

So what I suggest is that in the 1st year they receive a £50 per week bonus on any income they receive, to act as an incentive to come off benefits and start their own business.

Then for the next 2 years I would guarantee that they will have an income of no less amount than if they had stayed on benefits.

Examples

A man is receiving from the state £200 per week

In the first year they are earning £150 per week cleaning windows so they will receive the following.

£50.00 per week back to work bonus and £50.00 per week top up to match their benefits rates.

In the second year they would just receive just the £50.00 per week top up.

If they earned more than they would have got on state benefits then they don't receive any top ups.

I would be interested if anyone had more ideas?

[mark dew]

I got into w/c on a partners for business course. They paid my benefits + a tenner for upto 26 weeks.
I had to bank what i earned in that time. And when i came off partners for business, the money i had in the bank was returned to me.
But it was strangling me financially in the end. I came off after 3 months because i couldn't survive on benefits.
I could have not declared all of my work but i've had run-ins in the past and prefer to be open(ish) about it now.
I do think more money tying it in with relevant courses would have helped me alot more.
And i also found that it was a 1 coat fits all type of assistance. I wasn't given links or addresses of the FED or any kind of forum or literature on w/c.
It was a help to start off with though.
 

[windows_chepstow]

I don't know, William!  Any system such as yours would be wide-open to fraudulent lay-abouts.

I personally worked weekends - Friday/Saturday/Sunday humping Royal Mail bags and then changed to static security guarding (as it was less physically demanding after four days of window cleaning).  I only took Mondays off and worked the rest of the week till Friday, when I had to stay up all night.  Comming upto Christmas, I did 15 nights staight guarding; then worked during the day.  Luckily enough, nothing happened on 'my shift' apart from me snoozing!

A guy who recently spent the day window cleaning with me works early afternoon till late at night delivering stuff for ASDA.  He's building up his round during the day.

Where there's a will, there's a way.

But throwing tax-pounds at newbies, probably whom only one if five will survive window cleaning anyway; just doesn't seem to agree with me.

 

[Davindo Cleana]

Bow and arrow

[dai]

I went back into window cleaning following redudancy. I got enterprise allowance.
This amounted to £40 a week for the first year.
I had to put £1000 of my own money into the business first though.
As it happened I could have managed without it.
To be totally honest, I don't think there are many dole guys doing WC in these parts. They have made things a lot more difficult for them in the last 10 years.
I am no saint , that's for sure. When my kids were young and I couldn't find work in the 70's, well I'm not going to go into that on here, put it this way we survived.
I have never been against a true grafter trying to provide for his family. It's the layabout, gimmee, gimme,gimme people that get up my nose.
So yes, there should be insentives to work. I thought there already were, I'm a bit out of touch with the benefit system these days. Dai

[williamx]

I don't know the figures but I think its about 3/4 of those people who give up benefits and try to run their own business fail because they can't find a liveable wage quick enough.

If there was a safety net in place for the your first 2 years, then I think that this figure would fall and the tax system and all of us would benefit from the success of those that we have helped.

Yes there will always be some people who will not work, but there are thousands who do and would like the opportunity to try. 

[matt]

steal the horse, then they cannot get around 

[busydaffodil]

he he he  I like your sense of humour!